The Deep

Chapter 1

*Her*

Ever since I was a youngling, I've been told horrid stories of humans and their land. Their ego and selfishness are well known amongst my people. There were times that I would leave my tail and look at them from a distance. Even then, I couldn't understand his such inferior creatures cause such fear in my kind. They hide in their hideous beasts that roar as they come and go. Cowardly and tasteless.

But it wasn't until one day that I heard their storytellers tell their young about me and my people. "A selkie," they said, "are sea folk that are able to shed their tails and come to land. It said, that if you find a selkie's tail, you must hide so that she can never go back to land. Many sailors and village men would hide their tails-if they ever found one-preventing them from going back to the sea." The little young looked at the storyteller in awe and wonder, listening to what seemed like a folk story. What came after wasn't so wonderful to me. "After doing so, these men would hunt for the selkie and make it theirs. Willingly or unwillingly." I haven't gone back to land since I heard this story of them. That day I knew that my people were correct in saying that humans were savages who take my kind and used them for their own benefit.

I stayed in my waters for many tides alongside Mother. I moved away and came back, over and over again, before I was alone. I continued to swim, and hunt, and live alone in my home waters. In time, I started to feel that solitude. I was all alone. I've never been on my own before my mother died, and I didn't want to be anymore. It's a feeling I've never felt before. That's why I'm going ashore. I've heard of a woman on land that is an ally of my people. Legends say that these allies used to be a part of a clan that separated themselves from the water. So, if she can live on land, then so can I. I pull myself onto the sand, struggling to breathe the unfamiliar space. Pain explodes on my lower half, making me scream in agony as my skin detaches from itself. I try and muffle my cries out with my hand as I crawl out of my tail.

My remaining skin will shed in a few hours, and it will sting no less than this. I stand up, my new legs wobbling under the pressure, and shakily push my tail into the water. The current pulls it back into itself. I touch my chest gently and bow my head, Thank you, Mother Water.

I run away from the sand bed, going farther away from home. Her den is somewhere hidden near this shore, somewhere underneath the Mother Moon. At least, that's what I was told. I look around confused and disoriented. I walk out into a dark path as I continue to look at everything all at once. There's so much noise! I try to block it out with my hands.

Strange, bright light glows from behind me. I've never seen such light like this before. The light touches my hand in such a curious way. I look over my shoulder and see the two small orbs coming at me. I see one of the humans' beasts charging at me. I hiss at the monstrosity, baring my teeth in challenge. But it stops abruptly; it sends a screech into my ears. I don't move. I tense my muscles, ready to fight. Instead, something comes out of the beast in a hurry. "Are you alright?" I mouth the words, Are. You. Alright. Foreign and strange. "Is anyone else with you?" Is anyone else with you?

It's a male. Two arms, like me, and two legs. Brown hair. Dark eyes. Gentle, kind. "Do you need help? Where are your clothes?" Help. Clothes. Need. Help. I quietly collect their words and safely tuck them away for when I need them. He steps forward and I take two steps back in return. "It's ok," he speaks again, "I can help you." I tilt my head, closely observing him. He is human. I cannot trust yet. I must find the woman of my people. Find food and shelter, then explore when it is safe. If I make my escape now, this human will follow. It will pursue me wherever I go. That much I am certain.

I part my lips slightly and let my song flow from them to his eager ears. I've never used it before now, but I know enough to disarm him. His eyes glaze over, his mouth turns slack, and his breathing becomes shallow.

Like that, I leave him there. Frozen and in euphoria. I run away from him, following Mother Moon in the sky. This is my new home now. Home land. Not home water.